The Signals
by mojave0124
Summary: This is written after eppy 3x19 where Beckett invited Castle to see 'Forbidden Planet' together.


_**This is written after eppy 3x19 where Beckett invited Castle to see 'Forbidden Planet' together.**_

_**I took my very long to gather enough courage to have it posted. I haven't let anyone review it yet because I think the best reviewers will be the fellow Castle fans.**_

_**This is my first writing ever. I hope I did ok. If you don't think so, please be gentle with your review. At least this piece is rather short. **_

_**Thanks so much in advance!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't owe anything.**_

This time, their presence in this place is not about the cases anymore.

Castle can barely focus on what's going on in the film because he is sitting next to this woman of his dream close enough for the cherry scent to radiate towards his nose.

It's just the cherry-flavored candy in her mouth but the aroma keeps bringing his mind back to the afternoon in the precinct where he first discovered this scent of her.

Cherry. A scent of innocence is never again innocent after that moment. It has cast a magic spell on him ever since.

He feels her presence at his right arm. They share the armrest, which she insists to be pulled down. He may not want to admit it but even he himself agrees she has a valid reason for that.

His pinky finger is almost touching hers. But his naughty racing mind directs that finger further so that their skins finally touch. She doesn't move away and that makes his courage grow, but not as much as his pulse rate.

Moments later, he starts to caress her pinky finger with his. He feels the warmth growing on his own cheek.

All of a sudden, he feels his pinky being pressed down by a female opponent like a defeated wrestler.

He freezes for moments to interpret whether she has just posted a warning. Fixed eyes on the screen with a faint wicked smile, she signals otherwise.

He is pleasantly surprised not to receive her objection against his actions.

So. No. His pinky is not backing down. It will fight until it wins. Out of desperation, his ring finger joins the wrestle game.

Fairness is out of the question in this. His team now seems to have an upper hand this time around.

Call it a game changer. Five from the opposite side just come right into the ring and have his wrestlers all squeezed up.

Bells rang nonstop in the pace of the pounding heart beats while two teams of strong-willed fighters have each other gripped as firmly as a lock and not letting each other go. Wicked grins on the faces of the two.

Settling down and catching their breath. It's a game with an unexpected result. Losing and winning all present spontaneously.

Adrenalin travels through his system and brings him one foot in euphoria.

Despite the soundtrack of the film and his own pounding heart, he is so sure he hears hers too.

'Now you're pushing it' - a comment she made earlier on is now keeping him from taking it too far.

After all, he is perfectly happy with the status quo.

The film comes to an end. Should they let the dreamy state in the darkness turn into history? Yes, they decide they should and let go of each others' hands as the lights go back on. The brightness brings not only the reality back into place but also the sight of her lovely blushed cheek. So lovely that he wants to explore it with his lips.

But no. Don't push, he reminds himself.

They don't go to Remy's so they share a cab ride home. Mostly in silence.

He is too busy re-running again and again what happened in the cinema as if to make sure the mental vision find its secured spot within his mind.

The silence doesn't bear any weight even though it's loaded with overwhelming amount of nervousness and a little bit of uncertainty. It's something that the two have never experienced before.

In a way, he feels lucky to be able to get away with not sharing his views on the film. Even as a writer who's good with words, he has hardly anything to say about the story running on the screen.

Kate isn't exactly in a good position to start such discussion either. Her mind has escaped to fantasyland ever since his pinky finger crossed the line. Just like him, all she wants to do now is to keep the color of her memory as vivid for as long as she can.

The electricity he sent through his fingers down her spine makes her feel so much alive. Like a watch receiving a brand new battery. Except she is barely able to tell time now.

The cab pulls off at her apartment building just a few feet away from the entrance. The place is dark as the light of the lobby doesn't reach that far.

He gets off first to let her out. And it is time to say goodnight.

Even though what they had tonight isn't exactly a date, a goodnight kiss would probably still be appropriate, he thought.

Their eyes lock for a few seconds before he leans closer.

His lips that carry the kiss he intended for her cheek detoured to her lips at the last faction of a second before reaching the original destination.

He can feel she is shocked but she doesn't pull away to snap him. She freezes like a shy teenager, unable to speak.

Lightning strikes and now he's two feet in euphoria.

He slowly pulls away and sees her eyes still closed as the distance between them gradually grows. They exchange smiles and whisper goodnights to each other's ears. He manages to catch the last breath of the cherry scent to keep for the night. This time, from her hair.

He keeps the kiss brief as he wants to make sure his message is sent across clear enough without pushing too hard for an answer.

But no objection is an answer in its own right, isn't it?

Her responses so far have been a positive signal. He knows if things really go the way as he wishes, she will have certain issues to deal with first. He will allow her space and takes things slow.

He gradually turns around and walks towards the cab. She stands there, still stunned and speechless, looking down on the ground as if her neck is no longer able to support the weight of her thoughts.

Indeed. She has great deal of thinking and reinterpretation to do for the night. Or she may as well just let fantasies cut the line.

When he gets into the cab, he turns to take a last look at her but she doesn't realize he is watching.

She approaches her building with her fingers on her lips where she can still feel the sensation of the additional blood flow running beneath the skin.

It's the scene he finds faintly familiar. Except this time, he no longer feels crashed and burnt.

He loses the sight of her as the cab turns at the corner of the streets.

The night ends but a new phrase has just begun.

_**To borrow Kate's line: 'So here you go. Judge away! '**_

_**Thank you so much for reading!**_


End file.
